Andy Garcia Returning for “Book Club 2 – The Next Chapter”

Andy Garcia is heading back to book club…

The 66-year-old Cuban actor will star opposite Diane KeatonJane FondaCandice BergenMary Steenburgen, Don Johnson and Craig T. Nelson in Book Club 2, which has entered production in Italy.

Andy GarciaGarcia and his cast mates will reprise their roles from the original film, Book Club, with Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie and Vincent Riotta joining the sequel as new cast members.

The original 2018 film followed four lifelong friends—played by Keaton, Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen—whose lives were forever changed after reading 50 Shades of Grey in their monthly book club. Paramount Pictures released it in May of 2018 and saw it gross upwards of $104M worldwide against its $14M budget.

The sequel will follow our four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.

Bill Holderman has returned as director, having once again penned the script with Erin Simms.

Endeavor Content is financing and producing Book Club 2 – The Next Chapter, with Holderman and Simms also aboard as producers.

Focus Features will distribute the film in the U.S., with Universal Pictures International distributing it internationally.

Garcia will next star in Father of the Bride.

Cheech Marin to Star in the Bobby Farrelly-Directed Film “Champions”

Cheech Marin is a champion

The 75-year-old Mexican American actor will lead Champions, a recently-wrapped film that Bobby Farrelly directed for Focus Features and Gold Circle Entertainment.

Cheech MarinMarin stars alongside Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson and Matt Cook.

Champions is based on the Goya Award winning Spanish film Campeones, which Universal Pictures International released in 2018.

It centers on a stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach who is forced to coach a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service.

Actors with intellectual disabilities rounding out the cast to ensure authenticity in the storytelling include Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens and Champ Pederson.

Mark Rizzo penned the script.

Focus Features will distribute the film domestically, with Universal Pictures handling its international release.

Marin is an actor and comedian who broke out in the ’70s, alongside Tommy Chong, as one half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He’s appeared in such films as MachetePlanet TerrorGrindhouseTin CupFrom Dusk Till Dawn, DesperadoGhostbusters IIBorn in East L.A.After Hours and Up in Smoke, along with series including Elena of AvalorLodge 49 and Jane the Virgin.

Noomi Rapace to Star in Focus Features’ Supernatural Horror “You Won’t Be Alone”

Noomi Rapace won’t be alone

Focus Features has pre-bought world rights to under-the-radar supernatural-horror You Won’t Be Alone, which will star the 40-year-old half-Spanish Swedish actress.

Noomi Rapace

Rapace will appear opposite Anamaria Marinca, Alice Englert, Carloto Cotta, Félix Maritaud and Sara Klimoska.

Filming has just wrapped in Serbia on the feature, which is being made by Kristina Ceyton and Sam Jennings.

Set in an isolated mountain village in 19th century Macedonia, the film follows a young witch who is left to go feral in the woods. Curious about life as a human, she accidentally kills a peasant in the village, then takes her shape to see what life is like in her skin. This ignites her deep-seated curiosity to experience life inside the bodies of others. The witch will be played by different actors and the film will include an old Macedonian dialect.

The movie marks the feature debut of Australian-Macedonian writer-director Goran Stolevski, whose short film Would You Look At Her won Best International Short Film at 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Focus will handle domestic and Universal Pictures International will handle international territories. Bankside is the sales agent and cut the deal with Focus, which has boarded early.

Said producers Kristina Ceyton and Sam Jennings: “You Won’t Be Alone is a very special project by a very special and talented filmmaker and we’re so proud and excited to be producing Goran Stolevski’s debut feature film. And to be collaborating with Focus Features and, for the third time, with Bankside Films, to bring this story to life and out into the world. Making a film amidst a pandemic has certainly been challenging, but with such supportive financiers in Screen Australia and Film Victoria, our post partner KOJO Studios, Head Gear Films, and the dedication of our amazingly committed international cast and the incredible crew here in Serbia, we feel very grateful.”

Universal Pictures International to Release Gloria Trevi Biopic in Mexico

The biopic about controversial Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi has universal appeal…

Universal Pictures International will distribute Gloria in the  46-year-old Monterrey, Mexico-born pop-rock singer’s home country.

Gloria Trevi 

Gloria is slated to open south of the border on September 5 in 1,000-plus theaters, a large release by Mexican standards.

Trevi was often referred to as the “Mexican Madonna” for her provocative lyrics and edgy performances in the 1990s. Her career came crashing down in the late ’90s, after she and her former manager were accused of luring young girls into a cult-like pornographic ring. Trevi went on the lam and was later arrested in Brazil, where she was held in prison for more than four years. She was released in 2004 when a court found her innocent on charges of kidnapping, rape and corruption of minors.

In December, Trevi’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the producers claiming that the production was using an unauthorized script about the singer-songwriter’s life.

At a Sunday music awards event in Miami, Trevi told The Associated Press that the producers “deceived” her and that the script contained “lies.”

The film’s producers say they have a notarized contract signed by Trevi, plus they claim that she approved of the screenplay.

“The contract is not subject to script authorization on behalf of Gloria Trevi,” a producer’s statement said. “In fact, she read the screenplay in 2010, was fully in agreement and even passed along some notes which have since been included.”

Directed by first-time helmer Christian Keller, Gloria stars Sofia Espinosa, who appeared in the HBO prison drama Capadocia.